"Ron was six months pregnant and said he was a virgin" -When the Spy-Gate scandal led Bernie Ecclestone's vicious remark about McLaren boss Ron Dennis

Former F1 owner Bernie Ecclestone did not mince his words whilst attacking then McLaren CEO Ron Dennis for the infamous 'Spy-Gate' scandal in the 2007 season.

The Woking-based team found themselves involved in one of the most controversial moments in the sport's history in the middle of the 2007 season. There was an exchange of sensitive and confidential information between the personnel of McLaren and rival Ferrari.

The controversy known as the 'Spy-Gate' incident saw McLaren being disqualified from the 2007 championship, leaving them without any Constructor's Championship points and a historic fine of $100 million.

Whilst speaking about the controversy a year later in 2008, former F1 owner Ecclestone launched a vicious attack on Ron Dennis for his part in the controversy. He said (via ESPN):

"What happened last year has been going on in F1 for years. If McLaren had come clean and owned up none of it would have happened the way it did. He is a good friend of mine but Ron was six months pregnant and said he was a virgin. He knows he got off cheap."

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McLaren CEO Zak Brown praises the current budget cap

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has heaped praise on the current F1 budget cap claiming that it has made the field tighter in terms of competition.

Speaking with Autosport, the American pointed out that despite the dominance of Max Verstappen and Red Bull in 2023, several teams and drivers made it to the podium. He said:

“I think the cap has been outstanding for the sport. It’s not yet perfect but I don’t think that something so young wasn’t going to have some loopholes that the FIA are closing – such as TD45 [which prevents IP from side projects being used by F1 teams].

"Max [Verstappen] made it the most dominant season by one driver and team ever, but if you took Max out of the equation, you had for the first time five teams with seven or more podiums."

He added:

"I can’t recall a team that has been 10th in the constructors’ [championship], always being a threat to be in Q3. I think we’re all used to the team being in P10 being three seconds off the pole."

The field has been bunched up in terms of performance and providing close races, which is apparent in the close qualifying sessions and in-race battles for the positions between the teams.